Passo Giau - Monte Cernera

Access to the starting point:
a) Access from Gorenjska: Via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then along the motorway towards Udine to the Tolmezzo exit. From Tolmezzo, follow the road towards Ampezzo and the Passo della Mauria mountain pass. The road then descends and leads to a crossroads where you turn left (possibly right) towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all subsequent junctions, follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo.

In Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo di Falzarego Alpine pass. Follow this ascending road to a crossroads at about 1400m. At the crossroads, turn left towards the Passo di Giau and the Marmolade. Park in the large parking lot on the Passo di Giau.

b) From the coastal side: Take the motorway towards Venice/Venezia. At Portogruaro, leave the motorway towards Venice and turn right on the motorway towards Pordenone. At the next motorway junction near Conegliano, turn right towards Belluno. The motorway ends near Belluno and we continue towards Cortina d'Ampezzo at the next junctions. Continue as described above.

Path description:
From the pass, continue left (south) on the path that passes the chapel on the left. The path marked 436 initially leads through rolling meadows with fine views of the surrounding peaks, and then leads to a small notch called Forcella Zonia. Descend a little from the notch and then cross the steep slopes above the Valle di Zonia. After crossing, the path leads to the Forcella Col Piombin notch where there is another crossroads.

To the left is route 436 towards the Forcella Giau notch, and we take the slightly less beaten track to the right behind the "Sentiero Alpinistico del Cernera" signs.

We continue along the path, which first crosses the steep and then increasingly steep slopes of Monte Cernera. The path, which offers views mainly to the west, quickly leads to the first exposed steel cable. The short rocky slope is negotiated with the help of a rope ladder, which is quite welcome in the wet terrain. The steepness of the slope gives way briefly and the path leads to a steep rock step which is climbed steeply upwards using the fixed safety gear. The Fixed safety gear quickly ends and the path leads to relatively steep grassy slopes. The steepness eases a shade and the path leads to a less visible crossroads where an unmarked path branches off to the right. We continue straight ahead and continue to climb the grassy slopes. As we approach the rocky slopes, we first cross a short torrential gully and then the path leads us to a marked crossroads.

The path to the right leads to the Monte Verdal peak and on into the Valle di Zonia, while we continue to the left towards the summit of Monte Cernera. From the crossroads, the path becomes more difficult again and climbs steeply up the rocky slope with the help of cable cars. The sheltered part of the path is again relatively short and quickly leads to a grassy slope on the west side of the summit of Monte Cernera. Here, the view briefly opens up towards the Monte Civetta summit, before turning left and continuing up the slope on the south-west side of the summit. The route is not particularly difficult and follows a rocky slope with some rubble. The path then climbs mostly transversely to the east and soon opens up to a view of the cross at the top of the mountain. When you reach the north side of the mountain, the trail turns right and then climbs up the mountain slope to the summit.

Let's go down the ascent route.

On the way: Forcella Zonia (2229m), Forcella Col Piombin (2239m)

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